New society on the block. This is all about “synthetic biology” – an approach to genetic engineering (that involves the application of engineering principles) to make it easier to do. Synthetic biology is a hot topic at the moment, and the UK government has recognised the field as key in contributing to the UK’s reputation for biology research innovation – as shown by their recent pledges of investment, as part of their ‘engineering biology’ framework.

https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/programme/engineering-biology-leadership-council/ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64625c5e94f6df0010f5eaa9/20230502_CST_Engineering_Biology_Report.pdf

This society aims to foster a synthetic biology community here at QUB, and to do this we plan to deliver lectures and resources on this cutting-edge field, with the opportunity for competition participation, “biohackathons”, public engagement activity and possibly others.

If you’re interested in finding out more and having a look at what’s to offer from the society, follow the link below to join the SynBioSoc Discord server.

https://discord.gg/hyg26ASVwF
(Discord is nicest to use on PC (although there is a mobile app). Desktop app download: https://discord.com/download, and web app: https://discord.com/app).